Natasha & Henry
by VamP1R4T3
Summary: Human male Henry meets martian female Natasha , a relationship quickly develops and they run from the town partly to escape and partly to find others of her race. Story consists of OCs of same race as the biker mice in BMFM.
1. Chapter 1 : Meetings

Disclaimer: I do not own Biker Mice From Mars or any of its characters etc. Story written not for profit etc.

1 : Meetings

He stopped abruptly and looked ove rhis shoulder, the street was empty, he glanced across the street and tried to shake the feeling that he was being watched. THen something banged to his right and he spun around to stare into the dark alleyway, the moonlight barely litup the shadows and he'd almost dismissed the notion something was there when he saw the light reflecting off a set of eyes. They looked like they were human eyes, the right size and distance apart, peering out from between to garbage cans. He stepped into the alleyway without thinking and the person shrank further into the shadows. He stepped towards her again, "Hello?" he asked cautiously, images of muggings flashing through his head.

"S-S-Stay back!" the voice ordered, shaking its way up an octave, it was a female voice.

He stepped forward again and suddenly the other person was running but she screamed as she tumbled over a pile of rubbish bags and hit the ground, she began crying, "Pl-Please leav-ve me al-lone!" she begged curling into a ball on the ground.

He stepped forward again and offered his hand to help her up, "Are you ok?"

The trembling ball opened a little and the male suddenly realised he wasn't talking to a normal human being. The first thing he noticed was her ears were far too large and she has a thin tail protruding from her jeans. The moonlight shone across her now and he stared in awe at her, she was homeless as the ragged shirt and torn jeans indicated, even the soles in her shoes were so worn that her feet were visible. Her entire body was covered in short fur and her curly hair hung down around her face, blood was caked into her fur coat on her left cheek. Her shirt had been torn completely off her at some point, probably in a drunken attempt to rape her, and had been clumsily stitched up with discarded wire. Her jeans hadn't fared much better, huge holes in the knees exposed the fur beneath which had been coated with mud at some point, thick clumps of caked mud now glued to the fur.

She was still shaking when she asked in a whisper "Why aren't you hitting me?"

"Why should I?" the boy asked, bemused.

"All humans beat me..." she said in a whisper.

"Why are you living like this?" he asked quietly.

"I have no home." she whispered still fearful. Clouds rumbled above suddenly blocking out the moon.

"Its going to rain." The boy said quietly, he looked back down at the figure, "I can't leave you here."

"It's better for you if you do." she said shrinking away from his hand.

"Please, come to my place, I don't want to leave you here like this, please?"

She shook her head and shrank further away from him, her stomach growled in protest at the denial.

"I have food." the boy said smirking slightly, "Please come?" he asked softly, smirk fading from his face, trying to seem comforting.

"People will see me." She said, trying to ignore the lure of food.

The boy shrugged off his jacket, knelt down and wrapped it around her head and shoulders, he pulled off his long sleeved shirt and helped her thread her arms into it. FInally, standing in his singlet he handed her his black wool gloves.

"Nobody will see you dressed like that." The rain began to fall harder, "And nobody is going to be paying much attention anyways." He offered his hand to her again, she took it, her other hand holding the jacket around her face so it formed a cowl shadowing her features. Then she froze, her tail swishing around behind her.

"Can you wrap it around your stomach?" The boy asked quietly, she tried and there was only a tiny loop of furry tail left visible, "Nobody will see that." He gently took her elbow in his hand and led her back to his flat.

He opened the door and stood back waiting for her to step inside, she did so quickly, immediately shying away from the bright light, he stepped inside after her and closed the door behind him.

"You can take that stuff off now, the blinds are all closed and I'm the only one that lives here."

"But I don't want you to see me properly!" She said, leaning heavily against the wall.

"Ok, but you look exhausted, will you at least have something to eat?"

"Yes please!" she said, her voice suddenly excited at the prospect of food and the disappearance of the anticipated beating.

He walked into the kitchen and opened the freezer, grabbing two frozen meals he slid them into the microwave and set the timer before walking across the room to the small dining table.

"Will you sit down?" He asked politely motioning to the chair, she stopped hovering around the doorway and walked timidly toward the chair before perching herself on the edge as if ready to flee at a moments notice, "You're not going to relax are you?" He asked quietly. Thunder boomed outside and she shrank away from the sound.

The silence stretched for a moment, the microwave pinged and the male stood stepping quitely over to the appliance, he opened the door and took out the meals, grabbing a pair of forks he returned to the table and slid hers towards began to eat as fast as she could, barely chewing between forkful. He sat and prodded the food absentmindedly as he watched. Soon the meal was gone, he shook his head and slid his towards her, she stared at him for a moment from beneath the jacket-cowl before starting on his plate. He smiled and stood walking over to the sink, he filled a glass with water from the tap and walked over to her, she began coughing loudly and he slid the glass towards her, she looked at him again, appreciative but still wary, she drank the water slowly before returning to the meal. He went back to the freezer and heated another meal with the intention of eating it himself, returning to the table he noticed her watching him, he shook his head and placed the meal in front of her, "You haven't eaten in a while I take it?"

She shook her head and began on the next meal. The male smiled as he watched, each bite gave him a quick glimpse of the slightly bucked front teeth and the tiny black nose. He watched her, finally she finished, her eyes dropped a little as she stared at him and finally she laid her head on the table under the protection of the jacket, he stood slowy and touched her shoulder, she was still wearing his shirt, he shook her gently and she sat bolt upright, hands flying up to protect her face.

"Don't hurt me!" She squealed.

"I'm not going to, come use the bed, its more comfortable." He led her towards his bedroom and folded back the blankets, helping her into the bed he folded them up over her and watched as she fell asleep, he glanced at his wristwatch, it was only eight thirty at night, what was he going to do that wouldn't wake her?

She woke up and rolled over, she was so tired but so awake at the same time, she wanted to sleep more but her body wouldn't let her. She freaked out for a moment when she couldn't move, the blankets had wrapped themselves around her like a cocoon, she slowly wriggled free and then slid the blinds open with one finger, it was twilight, she was so disorientated she didn't know if it was morning or evening. She peered around the room lit by the fluroescent bulb the boy had left on. It was pretty basic, a bed, desk, outlandishly fancy computer and tri monitor setup, surround sound speakers, messy pile of dirty clothes on the floor and neatly folded pile of clothes on a chair, a note pinned to them.

"Clean clothes for you, if you want to shower. If you want to leave, I understand but I really hope you don't, I had to go to work, I waited as long as I could for you to wake up but I decided you'd be better off getting sleep while you can. Feel free to help yourself to anything you want, food, drink, clothes, etc."

She stared at the clothes, black jeans, t-shirt and belt, there was no underwear, obviously his closet didn't extend that far. She walked past the clothes and peered into the hallway, she sniffed the air, it smelt strange but not unpleasantly so, must have been some mixture of sweat and deoderant, nothing a normal person would really notice but her keen nose picked it all up. A quick search through the house concluded that there were only five rooms, a kitchem/dining room, bathroom with seperate toilet and two bedrooms, one bedroom had been changed into a sort of recreation room, a set of drums stood proudly in one corner and a new playstation three sat, unopened in the other, a stack of twelve games, also unopened beside it. she touched the couch, it was black with thick soft covering, she pulled her hand away suddenly noticing how dirty she was. She walked absentmindedly to the bathroom and began taking off her clothes, she placed them in a neat pile to one side, and stood in her underwear, unsure whether she should take it off aswell, worried someone might see her. She glanced at the window, it was closed and had frosted glass, she checked the door, it was locked. She stared at herself in the full length mirror, slowly she reached behind her and unclipped her battered C-cup bra. The air swirled around her exposed lumps, she shivered, it felt strange, she hadn't changed clothes in so long. She bit her lip as she looked at herself then she closed her eyes and slid her underpants off, she shivered again as air reached places it hadn't in months. Ignoring the sensation she turned the hot water on and stepped in, it flowed around her ankles and began to rise as the bathtub filled, she turned the tap off when it reached her collarbone and she closed her eyes as the rythmic drip drip filled her mind. She would have washed herself properly the but the water was so warm, her mind slid back into unconsciousness.

He slid the key into the lock at let himself in, he took off his shoes and walked in his socks to his bedroom. He opened the door slowly to see if his guest was still asleep, she wasn't and the clothes were untouched. He sighed, he'd hoped she'd have stayed but obviously that wasn't going to happen. He wandered back towards the bathroom to wash his hands, the door was shut, he frowned, he msut have left the window open, he turned the door handle but it was locked. He was about to try opening it with the house key whjen he realised what may have happened. He smirked to himself and retreated to his bedroom, scooping up the clothes he removed the note and pin. He walked back to the bathroom and knocked. There was no reply. He knocked again, still no reply. He Shrugged and unlocked the door, carefully opening it, he'd assumed she'd have the shower curtain pulled across and would be asleep in the bath, halfway in he froze. Her liquid chocolate eyes were staring at him over the top of the bathtub rim, one hand was covering her breasts, the other one was between her legs.

"Oh, I'm sorry..." He said, blushing slightly at his mistake, "You didn't answer my knocks so I assumed you were asleep." he paused, "I also thought you'd have pulled the curtain across." She remained silent. "Sorry." He repeated lying the clothes on the small bench next to the sink. He turned to leave when she spoke.

"D-Do you have some shampoo?"

He turned to the cupboard and took out two bottles, shampoo and conditioner, he crouched down looking away from her and sat them on the floor beside her, he glanced at her and was immediately consumed by her eyes, they were so deep, and so amazingly brown. She stared back, he broke contact and bit his lip. "Sorry he said again slipping out the door and locking it behind him.

Twenty minutes later she emerged to find him sitting on the floor looking worried. She stared at him, he was unusually pale, his emerald eyes seemed to be hard and protective and his hair was jet black, it fell around his face in long straight strands. He was thin too and he seemed very fragile to her, with his porcelain skin and bony appearance.

"I'm sorry." he said quietly, "It was stupid of me to go in there when it was so obviously not needed."

"Its not your fault I forgot clean clothes." she said sitting down beside him, his shirt was a little small around the chest but the jeans fitted fairly well, "Can I ask you a question?" she said quietly.

He nodded solemnly, still feeling horrible about barging in on her.

"What's your name?" She said quietly.

He froze and his head turned to look at her, "Henry."

She smiled, "I like that name you know." she paused and held out her hand, "I'm Natasha."

He shook her hand and froze marvelling at the soft fur that covered it, it was so smooth and clean now and so amazingly soft.

"Umm..." she pulled her hand away gently and he looked at her apologetically, "I used all your shampoo and conditioner."

He smirked, "I don't mind." he paused, "Do I get to ask a question?"

She nodded.

"I'm not sure if it'll be to personal, if you don't want to answer you don't have to." he said, stumbling over his words slightly.

"Ask."

"Why are you the way you are?" he paused, "I mean, how did you get this way?" he paused again, "I.... That sounded really bad didn't it?"

She nodded, but smiled at the same time, "I was born this way." she shrugged at his disbelieveing look, "I'm not from this planet."

"Where are you from then?" he asked quietly.

"Mars, but our cultures are so similar and we've taken a lot of your broadcasts in so we all know how to speak english and how your machines work and everything." she smiled nervously waiting for the obvious questions.

"Why are you here then?"

"Mars is in the middle of a war, I left with a group who thought we might find refuge on Earth, but I'm the only one who survived, your army found where we landed and killed us thinking we were mutants, we never had time to explain ourselves."

Henry went paler, "Then never let you explain yourselves?" he stared at his hands as though he'd killed somebody, "That's disgusting!" He swore loudly, "How could they do that?"

"I've been here for about six months." Natasha continued, "Your kind have all hated me, one showed me some kindness but only long enough so he could try to rape me."

"Are you going to go back to Mars?" Henry asked quietly.

"I can't and I don't know if I'd want to, no matter how horrible it has been here, mars would be worse."

Henry stared at her, then catching himself, he looked away, "I'm sorry if I stare at you Natasha, you're just so.. different and so interesting..."

She giggled slightly, "Stare at me now then you won't have to later."

Henry looked at her again, starting by staring at her feet, they were just like human feet but covered in short chestnut coloured fur, she wiggled her toes, she only had four on each foot. Her legs were covered by his jeans, he worked his way up to her hands, they were identical to human hands but again covered in chestnut fur. His eyes snapped to her breasts and he felt his pulse quicken slightly as it began to pump blood to a part of his body he didn't want extra blood at right now. He tried to move on but his eyes snapped back twice before he eventually got to her collar bone, most of her anatomy was human, but her skin had the lovely fur, her neck was the same and only at her mouth did it change slightly, her nose was more a shortened muzzle, both animal and human at the same time, the fur covered her fave in entirety, ending where the red of her lips started and also a few milimetres from her eyelashes. Her ears were quite large, big and round each about the size of a DVD sticking out to the sides slightly. Her nose was a small black triangle on her face, it looked moist and twitched slightly as he watched it. Her hair was long and slightly curly, it was a strange red-brown-blonde mix and hung down to the tips of her shoulderblades. She smiled slightly and his eyes were drawn back to her two front buckteeth that pushed her lower lip down a touch so that the teeth were always visible. Her tail suddenly brushed his hand, it was about three feet long and was covered in soft fur, it was about the thickness of a screwdriver handle and tickled slightly as it curled around his arm.

"Are you finished?" She asked, her tail sliding away to wrap around her middle.

"Sorry." he said quietly.

"Hey you only took twenty five minutes and you did pretty well to not freak out. I've never seen a human accept someone so different so easily."

"I try to understand." he smiled, "You're a very pretty girl you know."

Natasha blushed slightly, "That's because you're trying to see me from a human point of view, from my species' point of view I'm pretty average."

"Obviously your species' males all need glasses." Henry smiled, "I know you're having a rough time on our planet, I want to help."

"How?" she asked tilting her head to one side.

"By letting you stay here. I'll buy you food and everything and you don't have to leave the house if you don't want to and you can have the spare room, I'll move my stuff out."

"But I don't want to burden you." she said shaking her head.

"You won't be burdening me, PLEASE!" He practically begged.

"Why do you want me to stay so badly?"

He sighed, "Sorry, I got a bit overexcited at the thought, I just have no friends to talk to and I hate being by myself, alone all the time, I'd give anything for some company."

Natasha smiled. "Okay Henry, I'll stay for a little while." she paused, "But I do have one condition."

"Yes?"

Natasha smiled pulling two pieces of clothing from her back pockets, "I need some new underwear."

Henry smiled crookedly.


	2. Chapter 2 : Explainations

Disclaimer: I do not own Biker Mice From Mars or any of its characters etc. Story written not for profit etc.

2 : Explanations

Henry pulled the door shut behind him and walked down to the gate, he paused for a moment and looked back at the door, too chocolate brown eyes peered out at him through the letter slot. He waved casually at the house and began walking down town towards the clothes shop. He tugged a piece of paper from his pocket as he walked into the store, Natasha had given him a shopping list, he planned to just hand it to the store clerk and ask if they could help him find the right stuff.

"Can I help you?" a kindly woman asked stepping out from behind a rack of clothes, the red shirt she wore declared her to be the assistant manager, she looked about thirty five and had started filling out in places she shouldn't be.

"Hi, I've got some stuff I have to get off you guys, was wondering if you could help me out."

"Certainly." the woman replied holding out her hand for the list.

Henry handed it over before realising he hadn't read it to see what Natasha had written.

"Can I ask why you want holes cut in the back of the jeans?"

"Its for a play, they're doing Cats." Henry said trying to think of an excuse, "And the hole are so they can thread the tails through them."

"I see, wouldn't it be easier to tie them to the belt?"

"Yes but I think they're going for realism, all I know is I got asked to go shopping for costumes."

The lady nodded, "Are they male jeans or female jeans?"

"Female."

"Yes, the measurements would make for a funny looking boy." she paused, "Any particular colour jeans?"

"Black, they're doing black cats."

"And black shirts as well I take it?"

Henry nodded, Natasha probably didn't want just black clothes but it was the only thing that fitted his excuse.

"They also want Socks and..." She paused, "Bras and Panties?" The woman stared at Henry in disbelief.

Henry shrugged, "Don't ask me, its not my list."

"All the same size Bras and Panties?"

Henry shrugged again, "If that's what the list says." This was good, if he acted like he didn't know anything maybe she'd stop asking questions.

"Okay, the alterations to the jeans will be done on Thursday. So if you come back Thursday afternoon..."

"Can I jump the backlog a bit with the alterations, they just want the costumes ASAP because they've only got a week left for practice and they want to do dress rehersals."

"For A hundred and fifty dollars extra I can have them ready by tomorrow morning."

"That's fine." Henry said nodding, "I'll be back at opening time tomorrow."

And with that he turned on his heel and strode out of the shop and back down the street.

Natasha patted the tiny mouse in her hands, the trap it had been caught it lay discarded on the floor a metre away, it's tail had been caught.

"Shh little thing." she whispered, "It's okay." The mouse scratched its head and turned around in a circle.

Then the door burst open and the mouse disappeared running along Natasha's arm and disappearing in her modest cleavage. She giggled as it moved and then stopped, she could feel its tiny heat thumping excessively fast. She looked at the door and watched as Henry took off his shoes. Then the mouse moved again and she began giggling again.

"What's so funny?" Henry asked raising an eyebrow, the mouse moved in response to his voice and Natasha began to giggle again.

Henry stood for a moment wondering what to do when she suddenly reached down her shirt and produced a mouse.

"He was trapped, the poor little thing." Natasha said holding the mouse tightly.

"And?" Henry asked picking up the discarded mousetrap.

"I couldn't just leave him there to starve to death." Natasha said quietly.

"He's a pest, pests die."

Natasha looked at him horrified, "That's terrible, you'd kill a poor innocent creature just because its a pest?"

"No, we kill them because they're infested with germs, are disgusting and have a tendency to become destructive towards crops when in large numbers."

"But this guy hasn't hurt you." Natasha said, "Can we keep him?"

Henry frowned, "I guess we could-"

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Natasha said quickly.

"But he has to be CLEAN." he finished.

Natasha froze, "What do you mean clean?"

"Shower regularly, use kitty litter or something, you know, clean."

"Yeah I'll give him a bath." Natasha nodded eagerly, she took her hand off the mouse and it leapt from her hands.

Henry watched it scurry across the floor and disappear out under the front door.

Natasha raced over to the window and opened the blinds just in time to see a bird swoop down and catch the mouse.

Henry frowned, "Well...."

Natasha sighed, "That's such a horrible way to die." she said quietly.

Henry walked over and put a hand on her shoulder, that's how life works, I'm sorry."

Natasha shrugged his hand off, "It's okay, I didn't really want a mouse anyway."

"You seemed very cheerful earlier, why is that?"

Natasha shrugged and walked into the bedroom, Henry followed quietly, "I think its because I'm actually living somewhere, I know its not permanent but for the first time I have shelter and food and clean water and.." She stopped, sentence triling off as Henry nodded.

"I guess that would lift your spirits a bit." he patted her shoulder, "Your clothes will be ready tomorrow morning and you won't have to wear my clothes anymore."

"How much will I owe you?" she asked.

"Call it a birthday present." Henry shrugged.

"But it's not my birthday." Natasha replied biting her lip.

"When is?"

"December 31st on your calendar."

"Mine is December 30th." He smiled.

"How old will you be?" Natasha asked running a hand through her hair to get it our of her eyes.

"19. And you?"

"18 in earth years."

"That's pretty cool." He smirked, "Want to watch a movie?"

"What movie?"

"I'll let you pick."

Natasha smiled and half skipped towards the television room, "Okay."

They watched Romeo and Juliet, Natasha regretted her choice a little, but enjoyed it regardless, finally as the end credits began rolling up the screen Henry spoke.

"My turn to pick a movie?"

Natasha shrugged, "As long as Shakespeare didn't write it."

"No problem." He smirked as he scrolled through the movies on his computer. He selected Mad Max and jumped back onto the sofa, Natasha was curled into a ball at one end, head resting on the armrests, one leg dangling over the edge.

Henry spoke halfway through the movie, "I remember why I hate this movie now."

"Why?" Natasha asked, she was curled up into a ball now, tail wrapped around her.

"Because they kill the mother and child, its disgusting how anybody could kill a baby."

Natasha stared at him, "They're only fictional characters."

"Yeah but its just the thought that someone in the world would actually do that. It makes me sick."

He flicked a button on the remote and the screen went black. Natasha stared at him for a moment, he had compassion for people he barely met, he cared about people he didn't know.

Then she began thinking, she should be out on the streets right now fighting for her life. But she wasn't and it was because he cared about her, and she didn't know why he cared about her. A tear ran down her cheek and she hastily wiped it away lest he saw it.

Henry slid out of the shower and toweled himself off, he pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt both of which were faded black and well worn-in, he stepped out of the bathroom, hair hanging around his face still dripping slightly. He wandered down the hallway and peered into his bedroom, Natasha was nowhere to be seen, the book she'd been reading lay open upside down so she wouldn't lose the page. He glanced at the title and shook his head, whatever had possessed him to add Twilight to his book collection he didn't know, maybe it was just the allure of vampires. He shrugged and went into the spare room, she wasn't there either, a quick check of the toilet and kitchen confirmed she was nowhere in the house. He glanced out the back door as he passed it heading towards the hallway and he froze. She was sitting on the back lawn staring up at the stars. She wasn't wearing anything to cover her face or tail and was in plain sight of the neighbours, or would be if he had any neighbours. He stepped outside quietly and knelt beside her.

"Is anything wrong?" he asked quietly placing a hand on her shoulder.

She turned her face to look at him, her cheeks were sodden from tears and her eyes shimmered as she stared at him, "I'm never going to get to say goodbye to them." she said shakily.

"Who?" Henry asked softly.

"My parents, I never got to say goodbye to them." then the tears overflowed again and began pouring down her cheeks, she closed her eyes and began sobbing. Henry sat down beside her facing the other way and pulled her head towards him, he wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face in his shoulder. Eventually she stopped sobbing and her breathing became slow and regular, Henry stroked her cheek absentmindedly and peered up at the stars, it was impossible to imagine up there there was a war being fought. He glanced at his watch, midnight, he picked her up gently and carried her inside, she was a heavy sleeper. He took her to his bed and laid her down gently on the fresh sheets, he pulled the blankets over her and, feeling like a protective father, kissed her on the forehead before turning the light out and closing the door.

Henry sat up, screams echoing around the house, he leapt off the couch and crashed through the door into his bedroom, he flicked the light on, Natasha was thrashing around, the blankets had been thrown across the room and the sheets were torn.

He shook her awake, "Natasha, Natasha, what's wrong?"

She stopped struggling and began crying, she wrapped her arms around him and began crying into his shoulder for the second time that night.

"It was s-so horr-rrible!" She sobbed.

"What was?" he asked gently rubbing her back in a slow figure-eight.

"I went back to M-Mars and my parents were both d-d-" she sobbed unable to say the last word.

"Its ok that hasn't happened, they're not dead." He whispered in her ear, "It's okay." He prayed mentally to whatever god controlled the universe that he was telling the truth.

Eventually, after a at least ten minutes of back-rubbing and reassuring whispers she stopped crying and just held the human tightly.

"Henry?" she asked quietly, voice still shaky.

"Yes?"

"Will you sleep with me tonight? I need someone to hold, I need someone to keep the nightmares away."

Henry kissed her cheek, "Of course I will."

The pair laid down slowly, facing each other, Natasha curled up in his arms and absentmindedly nibbled at his shirt, Henry continued rubbing her back in a gentle figure eight. Silently he vowed to find her parents somehow, he didn't want her to hurt inside.


	3. Chapter 3 : Lockout

Disclaimer: I do not own Biker Mice From Mars or any of its characters etc. Story written not for profit etc.

3 : Lockout

Henry woke slowly, something cold and damp was pressed against his chest and he could feel something curled up against his stomach, he opened his eyes slowly and blinked in the half-light, he noticed the blanket was gone dragged under his shirt which had started to tear along the seams. He wrapped his arms around the bundle under his shirt and hugged it gently; at least she was comfortable and wasn't having nightmares.

About an hour passed and she didn't wake up, Henry was restless, he didn't want to disturb her but he had to go pickup her clothes. He sighed and gently tore the shirt further and slipped out of it. Natasha shivered and curled into a tighter ball. Henry took a third blanket from the cupboard and laid it over her, gently tucking it in at the sides; he scooped the air conditioner remote from his desk and set it to heat the room to 27 degrees Celsius. He took a set of clothes from the cupboard and closed the door gently behind him. After a brisk shower, Henry got dressed and left the house, a quick stop at the bank for money and he headed towards the clothes shop.

"Oh you're here." the assistant manager said walking over to him, "I've done the alterations as you requested. But we didn't have seven pairs of straight cut jeans in that size, and we knew you wanted them ASAP so we used two pair of stretch jeans and two pair of skinny jeans."

"That's fine, how much do I owe you?" Henry asked following her to the counter.

"Four hundred thirty-nine dollars and fifty cents." she replied bringing the amount up on the register.

Henry dug out nine fifty dollar notes and handed them to her; she handed his change and receipt to him and pulled two bags out from below the counter.

"If there's anything wrong please, let me know and I'll re-alter them." she said smiling.

"No worries and thanks." Henry said picking up the bags and turning to leave the shop.

When he entered the house again he could feel there was something wrong, he didn't know how he knew, it was just an instinct he had. He could hear Natasha crying, a door slammed out the back. Henry froze, the crying was coming from his room, and it wasn't 'I had a nightmare' crying either.

He burst through the bedroom door and looked around, it was warm in the room, the air conditioner was still on, the bed covers were ripped and scattered across the room and Natasha was sitting in a corner covering her face with her hands. Blood was oozing between her fingers and dribbling down her arm.

"Natasha!" Henry said dropping the clothes and rushing over to her.

"I'm s-so sorry." she sobbed, "I'm s-sorry."

"Shh Natasha, shh, it's ok, you're hurt, let me help." He gently tugged her hands away from her face, there was a gash above her left eye and a deep cut on her right cheek, her bottom lip was swelling up and her left eye was closed in pain. She had cut across her left hand and was bleeding from her shoulder. Henry stared for a moment before dashing out of the room. After a moment he returned with a first aid kit. He gently cleaned her wounds and bandaged them; he put ice on her lip and other bruises and gently laid her on the bed.

"Who did it Natasha?" he asked quietly.

"Two men, I didn't see their faces, t-they had lumps of wood and a knife a-an-" she hiccupped, "and they woke me up and started hitting me, t-they called me a f-f-freak a-a-and they started hitting me and cutting me. They r-ran off when they heard the f-front door." she sobbed harder, "I-I broke one of y-your monitors trying to fight b-back."

Henry glanced at the monitor on the floor and the overturned computer tower, he winced at the damage, that monitor cost a lot. He turned back to Natasha and stared at her, she was worth a lot more than a lousy monitor though.

"It's ok Natasha, they're nothing, the computer doesn't mean anything to me, and you're the important thing ok. He cradled her head in his arm and gently stroked her unbandaged cheek.

"H-Henry?" she sobbed quietly.

"Yes Tash?" He whispered quietly.

"Do you still want me to stay?"

"Of course I do. What makes you think I wouldn't?"

"P-people are breaking into your house because I'm there." she whispered, her unbandaged eye moistening.

"That doesn't worry me, you're the only thing I'm worried about right now." He kissed her gently on the forehead, "You should sleep."

"I've been asleep all night." she said half-smiling.

"Yes but your body will heal faster if you sleep.

Natasha nodded and closed her eyes.

Henry stepped out of the room and pulled his mobile out of his pocket, he flicked through the phonebook and slid his finger down a list of locksmiths, he dialled the number and waited.

"Hello Jerry's locks, Janette speaking."

"Hi Janette, look I was wondering if Jerry would be able to install a few deadlocks on my house."

"I'm sure he can, unfortunately he's on other jobs until next fortnigh-"

"What's the price to jump the queue?" Henry asked quickly.

"I can have him there first thing tomorrow morning but you'll have to pay double the labour rate for the first four hours."

"That's fine; I'll need about twelve deadlocks. Does he do window security too?"

Henry kept Natasha up all night watching old movies.

"Henr-" Natasha paused to yawn, "-y can I go to sleep now?"

Henry shook his head smirking, "Just one more movie?"

Natasha looked at him, "Why?"

Henry shrugged, "I don't know, for fun."

Natasha nodded and winced in pain, "Okay, one more."

Henry glanced at his watch, it was 3am, he flicked through the movies he had and picked The Dark Night, it went for a good two and a bit hours, if she stayed awake she'd sleep through most of the day.

Natasha was sleeping on the bed the next morning, she had a blanket covering her entire body so the light wouldn't disturb her, there was a knock on the door, Henry wearily got up, dusting off his clothes and rubbing his eyes. He walked to the door and opened it slowly.

"Good morning, I'm Jerry, here to fit your locks."

Henry outstretched his hand, "Morning Jerry, I apologise if I'm a bit, uh, incoherent this morning, haven't slept all night."

"This place doesn't look like it needs all those deadlocks you wanted."

"Believe me Jerry, it does. I had two guys break in the other morning in broad daylight and try to rape my girlfriend." He felt a pang of guilt for calling Natasha his girlfriend, but perhaps the story would seem more believable than 'two guys tried to kill my homeless mouse-girl friend'.

"Oh, that's not good. So where would you like me to start?"

"If you could start with the window grilles that'd be good, and then three deadlocks on the front and back door and three on the two bedroom doors." He stepped aside to let Jerry in, "Oh and Jerry, can you be as quiet as possible, my girlfriend-" the pang of guilt returned "-she hasn't slept in forty eight hours, and she gets very edgy if you wake her up."

Jerry nodded knowingly, "My wife's the same." Henry nodded in agreement, if only Jerry knew what he was saying.

It took jerry about three hours to complete the work. Natasha didn't wake once, not even whilst he was fitting the deadlocks on the bedroom door, Henry hovered around the bed the whole time just in case.

Jerry left after handing over the keys to the deadlocks.

"I could make a master key if you'd like." he said as he handed over the two bundles of clinking metal.

"No, thank you, this is more secure." Henry said, "I'll expect your bill in the mail."

Jerry nodded and walked away; Henry closed the door and jumped when Natasha laid her hand on his shoulder.

"Why did you get more locks added?" she asked quietly.

Henry turned slowly and saw her bandaged face, he touched her cheek with his fingers, "Because I don't want you to get hurt again."

Natasha's face softened and she wrapped her arms around him, "You're too good to me."

Henry returned the embrace and sniffed her hair, it smelt like shampoo still. "You're worth it."

Natasha sighed and leant into him, "Henry, I'm not."

Henry pulled away slightly so he could study her face, "Yes you are." he said and he kissed her on the cheek.


	4. Chapter 4 : Inferno

Disclaimer: I do not own Biker Mice From Mars or any of its characters etc. Story written not for profit etc.

4 : Inferno

It'd been a week since the attack and Henry had decided the bandages shouldn't be needed anymore.

"They'll just be scabbed over cuts now." he said gently removing the bandages, "And the bruises should have gone down." he dropped the bandage on the floor and examined the cuts carefully, they were impossibly well healed, only tiny thin scabs between her fur, practically gone.

Natasha's eyes blinked rapidly trying to allow the recently uncovered one to adjust to the light.

Henry couldn't help but stare as her eyelids opened and closed over the molten chocolate irises.

Natasha stopped blinking and her tail wrapped around her stomach, her new clothes fitted well though she detested the skinny jeans and thought that all black clothing was a bit much, Henry recalled the conversation.

"Why all black?" Natasha had asked holding up the garments.

"I had to figure out an excuse for the hole in the jeans so I said that it was costumes for a play called cats and that the tails were going to be threaded through the holes and she asked me what colour and I figured there was no point saying blue because there aren't blue cats so I said black and I had to get black shirts to make my story believable."

Natasha had just shook her head and laughed.

Their relationship had grown stronger over the seemingly short week, the deadlocks were doing their job and Natasha simply stayed at home hidden from sight, she'd learnt to play a song on the drums and had opened the previously unopened play station 3, and had already mastered Tekken 5.

Nina pinned Sergei to the ground again and punched away the last of his health.

"This is totally unfair." Henry protested, "Sergei should have caught that kick."

"You're just jealous because I play better than you!" Natasha giggle punching him playfully in the shoulder, her new bangles rattling on her arm, Henry had bought them for a 'one week unhomeless' anniversary. Natasha had told him to take them back but he'd begged her to put them on, finally she'd given in an put the silver hoops on, she'd never taken them off since. There was a straight one, a wavy one and a zigzagged one, apparently they were each supposed to represent something. Henry had told her but she'd forgotten what they stood for and had come up with a better reason for them. She told herself as long as she wore them the three most important people in her life wouldn't die, her mother was the wavy one, her father the straight one and Henry was the zigzagged one. She hadn't told Henry what they meant to her because she knew he'd say he wasn't worth being included in it. She knew he was though; he was one of the kindest, warmest, gentlest people she'd met, even if he was strangely overprotective of her. But she didn't mind, it was kind of nice having someone that wanted her and needed her in a sense, his cooking was definitely not something to be bragged about.

Natasha crushed Henry in Tekken once more then put the controller down, "We should play a different game."

Henry looked at his watch, it was almost midnight, "Actually I should have a shower and go to sleep otherwise I'll be dead at work tomorrow."

Natasha nodded, "I'll see you in bed." She jumped up in her purple flannelette pyjamas, she'd told Henry to buy her a pair and not bother getting the hole in the pants done professionally, and instead she'd done it herself. Henry watched her walk away her backside wiggling with each step, tail curling into a hook behind her, he mentally reprimanded himself and looked away, he shouldn't be thinking of her like that.

Half an hour later he slid into bed next to her and she immediately curled up against his stomach, he put his arms around her, it'd become a habit to sleep with her, he'd tried sleeping in the other room again but she'd had nightmares. Henry didn't know why his presence stopped her having nightmares, perhaps it was the second heartbeat in the room or the small amount of warmth his body gave off, he didn't know. He did know he liked having her with him, even when she was asleep. He drifted into unconsciousness as her tail unconsciously curled around his waist.

Henry woke the next morning shivering, a breeze played across his chest and he shivered again, he looked down and froze, his shirt was missing and Natasha was hugging him in her sleep, her head was nestled under his chin, pressed against his neck and her body followed his down, her legs were wrapped around one of his and her tail encircled both of their waist's. He could feel her breasts pushing against his torso and suddenly noticed his hand was resting on her backside. He took a moment to fight off the urge to squeeze and instead moved his hand behind his back.

Natasha's eyes opened a crack, "Morning handsome." she said quietly, her tail loosening as she moved back from him a little bit, "You never told me you had a six-pack." she said running her fingers down his stomach which tensed in response. She giggled and pulled herself against him again, her wet nose touching his neck briefly.

"Natasha I have to go to wor-"

"Call in sick." she whispered and fumbling around on the nightstand to find his phone. He took it and checked the time, it was nine in the morning, he was already late.

He sighed and dialled the shop's number.

"Hello." the service manager said answering the phone.

"Hey it's Henry." He said suddenly coughing as Natasha's nose brushed his Adam's apple, "I'm sick, so I'm not coming in today.

"Oh right, that's ok Henry, see you next Monday then."

"Thanks, bye." Henry hung up and shivered as Natasha breathed out, her breath swirling around Henry's neck like an icy wind.

Natasha rubbed her nose against Henry's neck and then kissed it, "Thank you." she whispered.

"Natasha..." Henry began but stopped when she moved and found himself staring into her chocolate brown eyes and then he knew he didn't want to be anywhere else in the universe. They just stared at each other for what seemed like years, then Natasha's eyes closed and Henry kissed her on the cheek and closed his eyes too.

They woke some time later and Natasha embarrassedly let Henry get up. She lay on the bed feeling awkward whilst he left the room to get dressed. She sighed as she got up and changed too. She pulled on her jeans and shirt and there was a knock at the door, she opened it and Henry was standing there, she met his green eyes and waited for the inevitable 'Sorry but you have to get out.' but it never came, he just stood there in his creased black business shirt and black jeans casually leaning against the door arch.

She spoke first, "How long do you have to know people before you can like them in your society?"

"People can like people without ever meeting them, there are no rules."

"But I can't like you that way?" she asked quietly.

"I don't think I'm worth it." he said quietly staring into her eyes.

"You are." she said quietly.

"I'm..." he paused and glanced at his watch, it was seven at night, they'd slept the whole day, "I'm going for a walk." he finished. Then he caught the fear and worry in her eyes. He smirked playfully and rubbed her shoulder, "I'll be back in half an hour. I promise."

Natasha sat on the bed feeling foolish, it had been twenty five minutes and every second she waited seemed like an eternity, was he going to reject her and throw her out? The prospect of it cut her inside, she didn't want to leave, not just because it was safe but because of him.

She heard a voice outside and a noise, she didn't pay attention though, she was too busy thinking about what he might say.

Then the smell of petrol floated in through the window and she ignored that too. She was totally ignorant of everything until she noticed paint blistering on the wall beside her and the unnatural heat emanating from it. She leapt up and raced to the door, she opened it and was pushed back into the room by the heat, smoke rolled into the room causing her eyes began to water.

Henry watched a fire truck race past, it turned into his street, he looked across at the column of smoke and froze. He calculated the distance and his heart sank, his house was on fire and all the doors were locked. He began sprinting towards the corner, a car blasted its horn as he ran in front of it but he didn't care. Turning into his street his worst fear was confirmed, a fire truck was already there pumping water onto the blaze; he jogged up to the fire chief who was on the radio.

"Sir!" he gasped, "Has everyone been gotten out?"

The fire chief looked at the youth and was about to dismiss him when he noticed the fear in the boy's eyes, "We don't think anyone is inside, the house is locked up pretty tight."

"It's my house and there is someone inside!" Henry said staring at the closed blinds.

The fire chief froze, "How many people son?" he asked quickly.

"One." Henry replied racing towards the house, he stopped a few metres away when the heat became too much, there were no outside doors on the bedroom end of the house.

"You can't go in there son!" the chief said dragging the boy back as two firemen raced past with axes.

"But Natasha!" Henry yelled trying to break free of the Chief's grip.

"Let the men do what they're trained to do!" the Chief said pulling him further back. The axes chopped through the front door and the two firemen stepped inside warily. There was more thudding as the bedroom door was chopped out of the way. A gas cylinder on the side of the house exploded and Henry's attempts to help became more frantic, the water poured onto the main entrance and the two firemen emerged, one carrying a body. The chief let Henry go a moment later and he raced towards the firemen.

Mentally he prayed she was alright. The fireman laid her on the ground and stepped back, Henry was bent over her in an instant checking for a pulse, she had one and she was coughing heavily, her eyes were red and sore and the fireman squatted down beside her pushing a respirator over her mouth, she took a few breaths of oxygen.

Henry sat in the waiting room at the hospital for what seemed like forever.

A nurse approached him, "Henry?" she asked, checking his name.

Henry nodded, "Yes."

"She's asking to see you." Henry stood slowly and followed the nurse to the room.

There were four doctors in attendance, all trying to examine her at once, she kept pushing them away but they kept coming back with a different utensil to examine her.

"Say ahh." one doctor said trying to put a tongue depressor into her mouth.

"Leave me alone." Natasha said tears dripping down her cheeks as she held her arms up to her face.

"Natasha." Henry said pushing one of the doctor's out of the way.

She stared at him, her eyes were bloodshot, "Henry." she said smiling slightly, her voice was hoarse but there was happiness in it, "I thought you would have left me."

Henry shook his head and smirked, "You can't get rid of me that easily."

Henry turned to the doctors in attendance, "Can we have a moment?"

The doctors, all wanting to look professional in front of their colleagues, left hurriedly, the nurse however remained.

"If you need anything just press the buzzer. If all goes well you should be out by morning, your smoke inhalation is only minor and we're very short on beds."

Natasha nodded, "Thank you."

Henry waited for the nurse to leave, "I told you not all humans are bad."

"The doctors will want to keep me to examine, I'll be like an experiment."

"You heard the nurse, you'll be released tomorrow morning." Henry said patting her hand.

"They won't release me, they'll come up with a reason to keep me here."

"Just sleep Natasha." Henry smiled as he patted her hand.

"You realise I've had so much sleep over the last few days it isn't funny."

"Then at least stop talking, it won't help your throat."

"What am I meant to do?"

Henry smiled and pulled a laptop from a backpack, "Luckily not everything was destroyed in the fire." He opened the screen and let her pick a movie. She motioned for him to lie with her, he nodded and lay on his side next to her, he was too preoccupied with her to watch the movie though.

Henry had just gotten to the point that her face was almost etched into his mind permanently when he was interrupted.

"Excuse me Henry." said a voice. Henry turned his head and was met by a police officer; he got off the bed and walked over to the doorway.

"Yes officer."

"We've been inspecting your house and we believe it may have been arson." The officer froze as he caught sight of Natasha's fur covered face and ears.

"Yes and?" Henry prodded noticing the officer's gaze.

The officer's mind took a moment to process the fact he was being spoken to, "Yes and, um, well we're going to have to investigate it more to see if we can catch the culprits."

"About that officer, I have a feeling that the culprits will be the same two that broke into my house a week ago and attacked Natasha."

The officer glanced at Natasha again, she glanced at him, waved and went back to watching the movie, "Yes, well do you have any idea why they would have attacked your.. er.."

"Girlfriend." Henry finished. Natasha's eyes bulged and Henry could feel them boring holes in the back of his neck.

The officer went pale, "Yes your -uh- girlfriend."

"No idea officer, she's never done anything against anybody that I know of and she certainly doesn't have a criminal record. So I've got no idea why they would."

The officer bent down and whispered to Henry, "You don't suppose it would be her appearance do you?"

Henry turned to look at her, then turning back to the officer whispered, "Only if those two guys are insanely jealous of her immense beauty, which is a definite possibility, though unlikely considering they're both males according to Natasha. Though they could be jealous that I'm with her and they aren't."

The officer went paler still, "Right well, I'll see what we can dig up, have a nice night." he said, he waved casually at Natasha who grinned and waved back.

Henry walked back to the bed and lay down again.

Natasha stared at him, "Girlfriend?" she asked incredulously.

Henry turned to her and kissed her briefly on the mouth, "I've never loved someone as much as I love you."

Natasha's eyes moistened again and she began crying, Henry stroked her cheek and smiled, "I won't let anyone hurt you ever again."


End file.
